1) Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a technology for remotely monitoring an object apparatus such as a POS terminal, a cash dispenser in a bank or the like by way of a communication network such as a public telephone wiring network, WAN/LAN or the like. More particularly, the present invention relates to a remote monitoring system composed of an object apparatus and a monitoring apparatus for remotely monitoring the object apparatus by way of a communication network. Further, the present invention relates to an apparatus for use in the remote monitoring system and for automatically setting a near-end value useful for detecting that a consumption component employed in the object apparatus is coming close to its end of life (near-end). Furthermore, the present invention relates to a recording medium having an near-end value automatic setting program recorded thereon and readable by a computer.
2) Description of the Related Art
In general, a store such as a convenience store or the like has a POS system (Point-Of-Sales: system for managing information acquired upon selling goods) introduced. Thus, the store is equipped with a POS terminal (terminal apparatus, or an object apparatus) and the terminal serves as a register in the store. For example, if a firm provides a number of stores as chain stores for deploying a sales operation, since a plurality of POS terminals of the same type are provided in an identical store, the total number of POS terminals of all chain stores can come up to a great number.
Therefore, if a worker such as a CE (Customer Engineer) or the like is delivered to each of the stores for carrying out maintenance operation of the POS terminal and the worker checks the sending condition of each POS terminal (e.g., information of preventive maintenance concerning the condition of a consumption component), a lot of time and labor will be required for the maintenance operation.
For this reason, recently, a remote monitoring system has been arranged so that a number of POS terminals can be monitored collectively in a remote control fashion by a monitoring apparatus provided in a control center, a remote maintenance center or the like. According to the remote monitoring system, each of the POS terminals is connected to a monitoring apparatus by way of a public wiring network, WAN (Wide Area Network)/LAN (Local Area Network) or the like. Then, a reporting unit is arranged so that information concerning the using condition of the respective POS terminals is detected and a packet of the information is created for reporting the spending condition to the monitoring apparatus by way of the communication network.
According to the remote monitoring system arranged as described above, the preventive maintenance information of each POS terminal is sent from the reporting unit to the monitoring apparatus by way of the communication network. Then an operator or the like having received the report provides instruction that a CE or the like shall be delivered to a store in response to the preventive maintenance information.
Further, actual spending condition of a consumption component (e.g., a number of typed lines of a thermal printer, a display time of a CRT or the like) is detected in each of the POS terminals and the detected spending condition is reported from the reporting unit to the monitoring apparatus periodically. When the monitoring apparatus receives the information concerning the using condition sent from the respective POS terminals, and it is recognized that the life of the consumption component of the respective POS terminal is coming close to the end of its life (near-end), then a near-end alarm is generated. When the CE is informed of the near-end alarm, the CE is dispatched to the store with a spare component corresponding to the consumption component, and the consumption component is replaced with the spare component at the store before a life terminating alarm is generated.
According to the above-described remote monitoring system, if a new POS terminal is introduced into a store or an already installed POS terminal is moved from one store to another, it is checked whether or not the POS terminal is connected in a communicative fashion with the monitoring apparatus by way of the communication network.
The above-described checking operation is merely a general network check in which it is confirmed whether the newly introduced POS terminal or the moved POS terminal is connected to the monitoring apparatus by way of the communication network in a communicative fashion. That is, it is merely confirmed whether the POS terminal is physically connected to the communication network or not.
According to the current remote monitoring system, if the POS terminal is physically connected to the communication network, it is regarded that the reporting unit of the POS terminal is capable of informing the using condition of the POS terminal to the monitoring apparatus. Therefore, it is not confirmed whether the POS terminal can really inform the using condition of the POS terminal to the monitoring apparatus without failure. Therefore, it is natural that there is no means for check the function of the POS terminal.
If the POS terminal is connected to the communication network and the check on the network connection indicates a satisfactory result in terms of physical connection, there can be still a chance of malfunction that a software does not work well in sending a message from the reporting unit of the POS terminal to the monitoring apparatus. Alternatively, if the POS terminal or the monitoring apparatus suffer from a wire cut in circuits thereof, it becomes impossible to send a message from the POS terminal to the monitoring apparatus without failure.
According to the current remote monitoring system described above, in spite of the fact that the monitoring system suffers from the above malfunction, the POS terminal starts to be operated under condition that the above network check shows a temporary satisfactory result. Therefore, if it is found that the reporting unit was incapable of sending a message to the monitoring apparatus satisfactorily after the system is brought into operation, then the operator of the system judges that there is any trouble in the reporting system including the POS terminal and the monitoring apparatus. Thus, a worker such as a CE or the like takes any action against the trouble.
As shown in FIG. 12, even if a new POS terminal 11 is introduced into the system at a location (store) 21 and a network check indicates a satisfactory result, it cannot be guaranteed that the reporting unit of the POS terminal 11 is capable of sending a message correctly to the monitoring apparatus 30. If the reporting unit of the POS terminal 11 has sent a message satisfactorily to a monitoring apparatus 30 upon the introduction to the system, and thereafter the POS terminal 11 is moved from the location (store) 21 to a location (store) 22, the remote monitoring system also suffers from the problem that the reporting unit of the POS terminal works satisfactorily or not. That is, even if the network check indicates a satisfactory result after the movement is achieved, which fact does not guarantee that the reporting unit of the POS terminal 11 is capable of sending a message to the monitoring apparatus 30 satisfactorily.
In general, it is extremely rare case that a terminal apparatus such as a personal computer is introduced into a predetermined location and then it is moved to a completely different location. However, for example, if a number of chain stores are provided to deploy a selling operation and a POS terminal of a same type is provided in each of the stores, a POS terminal can be introduced into a newly built store or a POS terminal can be moved from one store to another. For this reason, if it can be checked upon introduction or movement of the POS terminal whether or not the reporting unit of the POS terminal is capable of sending a message correctly to the monitoring apparatus, in addition to the check of physical connection to the network, the POS terminal will be brought into an operation mode with ease and the worker such as a CE or the like will be released from load of maintenance.
Now, description will be made on how the monitoring apparatus collects location information (location status) of the POS terminals in the current remote monitoring system with reference to FIG. 13.
According to an arrangement shown in FIG. 13, a couple of POS terminals 11, 12 provided in the same store are connected to a communication network (not shown) by way of a router 51. A monitoring apparatus 30 is also connected to the communication network by way of a router 52. Thus, the POS terminals 11, 12 and the monitoring apparatus 30 are made capable of communicating with each other through the routers 51, 52 and the communication network.
If the network is a network employing TCP/IP (Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol), for example, the location information of the POS terminals is collected by ARP (Address Resolution Protocol) or PING (Packet Internet Groper).
When ARP is employed for collecting the information, the POS terminals 11, 12 communicate with the router 51 periodically and the router 51 generates an ARP table 50.
When the router 51 transmits the ARP table 50 to the monitoring apparatus 30 by way of the router 52, the location information concerning the POS terminals 11, 12 is collected at the monitoring apparatus 30 (see an arrow symbol of a solid line in FIG. 13).
When PING is employed for collecting the information, the monitoring apparatus 30 generates a PING command in which IP addresses of the network to which the POS terminal 11 or 12 is connected, of four octets are changed from 0 to 255 in order, so that the PING command is supplied to the TCP/IP network in order (see an arrow symbol a dot line in FIG. 13). Then, the monitoring apparatus 30 collects the location information concerning the POS terminals 11, 12 by recording the IP address of the POS terminals corresponding to the PING command.
In either of the above cases, when the location information concerning the POS terminals is collected in the current remote monitoring system, a great number of packets, which often become useless, shall be transmitted to the communication network periodically. Therefore, the network suffers from a heavy load in transmitting signals. For this reason, it is requested that the location information concerning the POS terminals be positively collected without imposing a heavy load on the communication network.
When the location information concerning the POS terminals is collected in a manner described above, the information is formed into a location management screen and then the image is displayed on a displaying unit (display) of the monitoring apparatus 30. Thus, an operator or the like is informed of the current system arrangement status by means of the displayed image. FIG. 14 shows an example of the location management screen. As shown in FIG. 14, a location management screen 61 contains an indication of the POS terminal 11, which has been described with reference to FIG. 12. In the case of FIG. 14, the POS terminal 11 is newly introduced into the location (store) 21 and also the same POS terminal 11 is moved thereafter from the location 21 to the location (store) 22.
When the monitoring apparatus 30 recognizes that the POS terminal 11 is moved to the location 22 based on the location information collected after the POS terminal 11 is moved, the indication of the POS terminal 11 corresponding to the location (system arrangement status) after the movement is carried out is displayed on the location management screen 61. However, according to the current technology shown in FIG. 14, the indication of the POS terminal 11 corresponding to the location status before the movement is carried out is still left undeleted on the location management screen 61. For this reason, the location management screen 61 does not tied up with the current system arrangement status, and thus it can be seen as if the POS terminal 11 was introduced into the location 22.
As has been described above, it is a rare case that a terminal apparatus such as a personal computer is newly introduced into a network system and then the same terminal apparatus is moved within the network system. Further, according to the collecting method for collecting the location information described with reference to FIG. 13, if the newly introduced POS terminal is incapable of generating information concerning the location information because the terminal is not energized, it can be observed from the monitoring apparatus 30 as if the POS terminal was still not introduced. Therefore, it is impossible to discriminate whether the POS terminal is not energized or the POS terminal is absent due to movement. For this reason, according to the current remote monitoring system, it is impossible to provide a location management screen which can be automatically updated in accordance with the current status of location in which it is taken into account that the POS system can be moved within the system. Therefore, an operator (manager) shall delete, by a manual operation, the indication of the POS terminal corresponding to the location status in which the POS terminal has not been moved.
If the size of a firm is large, the number of POS terminals to be introduced will reach several hundreds to several thousands. Further, it is expected that the introduced POS terminals are moved within the network system under management of the firm. If such a situation is brought about, the method for collecting the location information described with reference to FIG. 13 will not provide an effective assistance with regard to when and into which store the POS terminal is introduced or to which store the POS terminal is moved. Further, the location management screen 61 deriving from the above information collecting method cannot be automatically updated in accordance with the current location status containing the introduction and the movement. Therefore, if it is desired to obtain a location management screen 61 updated with the current arrangement status, the operator (manager) of the system shall carry out the updating operation by a manual operation, which fact requires a large number of management steps, imposing a heavy load on the operator (manager).
Therefore, it is desired that the monitoring apparatus 30 can be informed of the current location status of the POS terminals and updates the location management screen 61 automatically in accordance with the last issued location information, so that the operator can manage the location of the POS terminals positively and is relieved from the management load.
Incidentally, each of the POS terminals composes a consumption component (component which shall be replaced with new one when it is worn out) such as a thermal printer unit, a CRT or the like. In order to monitor the consumption component of the POS terminal by the remote monitoring system, the monitoring apparatus 30 is arranged to compare numerical data (number of typed lines of letters of the printer or the like) indicative of the spending condition of the consumption component supplied from each of the POS terminals with a predetermined near-end value (value set in accordance with the expected life of the component so as to be smaller than the expected life by a predetermined allowance). If it is found that the numerical data indicates the consumption component is coming close to the near-end value, a near-end alarm is generated. Thereafter, if any measure (such as replacing the component with a spare component) is not taken in response to the near-end alarm and the numerical data reaches a predetermined life terminating value, then a life terminating alarm is generated.
In this case, the spending condition of the consumption component will differ depending on the operating condition of each POS terminal even if the POS terminals are the same type and provided in the same store. Therefore, the generating interval (allowance) between the timing point when the near-end alarm is generated and the timing point when the life terminating alarm is generated shall be determined depending on the detected spending condition information of the consumption component of each POS terminal, and shall not be determined uniformly over the all POS terminals.
If the timing point when the near-end alarm is generated is inflexibly decided and the consumption component is replaced with a new one soon after the near-end alarm is generated, this manner of maintenance is substantially the same as a manner of maintenance in which the replacement of the component exchange is carried out soon after part trouble is brought about. In other words, the timing point when the replacement of the component is carried out is merely changed from the timing when the trouble is brought about to the timing point when the near-end alarm is generated. Therefore, such a manner of maintenance cannot effectively reduce the load to be imposed on the worker such as CE or the like. Further, since it is not sure that the spare part is available upon necessity, generally, certain time interval is required for replacing the consumption component with a new one after the near-end alarm is generated.
As set forth above, however, the generating interval between the near-end alarm and the life terminating alarm shall be variable depending on the spending condition of the consumption component. Therefore, if component replacement is carried out a constant time interval after the near-end alarm is generated, there is a fear that the component replacement cannot be in time before the consumption component reaches the end of life, with the result that a trouble is caused in the consumption component. In addition, there is a fear that the component replacement is carried out too early with respect to the timing point when the consumption component reaches the end of life. In this case, the consumption component is replaced with a spare component in spite of the fact that the component still holds an allowance of life, which fact means that the component is not effectively utilized.
According to the current manner of maintenance, in order to keep constant (e.g., three months) the time interval between the near-end generation and the life terminating alarm generation, the operator of the system carries out a manual operation periodically on the monitoring apparatus 30 so that the near-end value is corrected and set for each of the POS terminals. FIG. 15 is a flowchart including steps of S51 to S61 useful for explaining the process carried out by the monitoring apparatus 30 for monitoring the consumption component of the current status.
As shown in FIG. 15, initial set values of the near-end value and the life terminating value are set at step S51. Then, the POS terminals are brought into an operation mode. When numerical data such as count data (e.g., typed line number of a thermal printer, display time of a CRT or the like) are sent from each POS terminal, the data are accumulated in a counter file at step S52.
If the operator does not set the near-end value (NO route of step S53), the count data accumulated in the counter file is compared with the near-end value at step S54. If it is determined that the count data (YES route of step S54), then the near-end alarm is generated at step S55. Thereafter, the count data accumulated in the counter file is compared with the life terminating value at step S56. If component replacement is not carried out and the count data reaches the life terminating value (YES route of step S56), the life terminating alarm is generated at step S57.
If the operator sets the near-end value (YES route of step S53), the operator makes reference to the count data in the counter file, and calculates manually to obtain the changing amount per unit time of the count data, i.e., an actual spending rate per unit time of the consumption component (step S58). Then, the changing amount (amount of spending) and the predetermined reference value are compared with each other at step S59. If the changing amount falls in a range of 90 to 110% of the reference value, the near-end value is maintained as it is. If the changing amount stays below 90% of the reference value, then the current near-end value is replaced with a value larger than the current near-end value (step S60) while if the changing amount exceeds above 110% of the reference value, then the current near-end value is replaced with a value smaller than the current near-end value (step S61).
That is, if the actual spending rate per unit time is small, then the time interval from the near-end to the end of life is expected to be long. Therefore, it is reasonable to correct the near-end value to be larger (closer to the life terminating value). Thus, the current near-end value is replaced with a larger one. On the other hand, if the actual spending rate per unit time is large, then the time interval from the near-end to the end of life is expected to be short. Therefore, it is reasonable to correct the near-end value to be smaller. Thus, the current near-end value is replaced with a smaller one. In this way, the interval between the near-end alarm and the life terminating alarm can be maintained constant.
The processing carried out at steps of S53 and S58 to S61 described above (near-end setting processing) is executed periodically in a manual fashion depending on the operator""s decision.
However, since the correcting and setting operation of the near-end value for maintaining the interval between the near-end alarm and the life terminating alarm is executed in a manual fashion depending on the operator""s decision, the following drawbacks are brought about.
{circle around (1)} Since the correcting and setting operation of the near-end value shall be executed periodically for each POS terminal, if the number of POS terminals is large, the operator is always placed under duty of correcting and setting operation.
{circle around (2)} Since the correcting and setting operation of the near-end value is executed periodically in a manual fashion depending on the operator""s determination, it is difficult to keep constant the interval between the near-end alarm and the life terminating alarm. If the operator fails to estimate the interval between the near-end alarm and the life terminating alarm, with the result that the near-end of the life of the component is set too late, then there is a fear that the consumption component reaches the end of life, leading to a trouble in the consumption component. Further, the expected life of the consumption component scatters depending on the component, and hence the actual interval between the estimated near-end and the life termination of the component also scatters. Therefore, the CE shall supply a spare component in a various manner in response to the needs from the actually installed POS terminals, which fact means that the CE shall take flexibly counteraction against the component replacement.
If the operator forgets the correcting and setting operation of the near-end value, the near-end state of the consumption component will be erroneously detected. Thus, the near-end alarm will be generated at an improper timing. Therefore, the timing of the component replacement can become too late with the result that trouble is brought about in the corresponding consumption component or conversely timing of the component replacement can become too early with the result that the component is not effectively utilized.
Accordingly, in the remote monitoring system composed of a number of POS terminals, it is desirable for the near-end value to be automatically set without dependence on the determination of the operator or a manual operation of the operator, whereby interval between the estimated near-end and the life termination of the component is positively kept constant.
The present invention is made in view of the above aspect. A first object of the present invention is to provide a remote monitoring system composed of an object apparatus and a monitoring apparatus for monitoring the object apparatus in which when the object apparatus is introduced into the system or moved within the system, the function of the reporting unit of the object apparatus is automatically inspected, whereby the object apparatus is smoothly brought into an operation mode and the worker is relieved from a heavy load in maintenance operation. Further, according to the first object of the present invention, the location information of the object apparatus can be positively collected without increasing a load applied to the communication network. Furthermore, according to the first object of the present invention, the location management screen of the monitoring apparatus is automatically updated in accordance with the actual location status of the object apparatus, whereby the manager is relieved from a heavy load in maintenance operation.
A second object of the present invention is to provide an automatic setting apparatus for setting a near-end value for managing a consumption component for use in the remote monitoring system in which a near-end value setting operation for managing the consumption component is automatically carried out without dependence on a determination or manual operation of a worker and/or a manager, whereby the time interval between the near-end and the end of life is positively and properly maintained constant and even if the number of the object apparatus is increased, it is possible to monitor all object apparatus without increasing a load on the worker and/or manager and the consumption component can be replaced with new one at a proper timing effectively.
According to the present invention, in order to attain the above object, there is provided a remote monitoring system composed of an object apparatus to be monitored, and a monitoring apparatus, installed remotely from the object apparatus in the system, for monitoring a current state of the object apparatus over a communication network, wherein the object apparatus includes a state information reporting unit for reporting information about the current state of the object apparatus via the communication network, and a test data generating unit, responsive to start-up of the object apparatus when the object apparatus is introduced into or moved within the system, for generating test data and rendering the state information reporting unit to dispatch the test data to the monitoring apparatus via the communications network.
The monitoring apparatus includes a test data returning unit for returning the test data, which has been received from the object apparatus via the communications network, back to the object apparatus via the communications network so that the test data generating unit of the object apparatus compares the returned test data with the original test data to discriminate whether the state information reporting unit is in condition for normal reporting.
At this time, the test data to be generated by the test data generating unit includes inherent information of the object apparatus, and location information about is a location where introduction, movement or removal of the object apparatus has taken place, the location information being attached to the test data before the test data is dispatched to the monitoring apparatus.
The monitoring apparatus may further includes an extracting unit for extracting the inherent information and the location information, out of the test data that has been received from the object apparatus via the communications network, as introduction information, movement information or removal information of the object apparatus, a location information storage section for storing the introduction information, the movement information or the removal information extracted by the extracting unit, and a location information managing unit for managing the introduction information, the movement information or the removal information stored in the location information storage section.
The remote monitoring system may further comprise a relaying apparatus for relaying the test data from the object apparatus to the communications network, the relaying apparatus having a location information attaching unit for attaching the location information to the test data before the test data is forwarded to the communications network for dispatching to the monitoring apparatus.
The object apparatus may further include an operation unit for inputting both a start instruction to start up the test data generating unit and inherent information of the object apparatus, when the object apparatus is introduced or moved.
The operation unit of the object apparatus may be arranged to have a discrimination notifying function for notifying an operator of the object apparatus of the result of discrimination by the test data generating unit as to whether the state information reporting unit is in condition for normal reporting.
The location information managing unit of the monitoring apparatus may be arranged to have a display section for displaying a state of installation of the object apparatus based on the introduction information, the movement information or the removal information, as a location management screen.
The location information managing unit of the monitoring apparatus may be arranged to have a location change updating unit for dynamically updating the location management screen displayed on the display unit in accordance with the introduction information, the movement information or the removal information.
In this case, the location information managing unit of the monitoring apparatus may be arranged to have a pooled information display unit for displaying, in addition to the location management screen, a pooled information screen showing the introduction information, the movement information or the removal information of the object apparatus, in order for notifying an operator of the monitoring apparatus that the introduction, movement or removal of the object apparatus has been taken place, before the location management screen is updated in accordance with the introduction information, the movement information or the removal information by the location change updating unit. Further, the location change updating unit may be arranged to update the location management screen of the display unit in accordance with the introduction information, the movement information or the removal information as selected or designated on the pooled information screen.
In addition, the location change updating unit may be arranged to display, in the location management screen, a state of installation of the object apparatus, which is related with the introduction information, the movement information or the removal information, in a fashion other than that in which the state of installation of the object apparatus has currently been displayed in the location management screen, before updating of the location management screen in accordance with the introduction information, the movement information and the removal information is executed.
Further, the location change updating unit may be arranged such that, if introduction information, movement information or removal information having the same inherent information as that of the object apparatus which inherent information is contained in the introduction information, the movement information or the removal information before the location management screen is updated with respect thereto is stored in the location information storing unit, judges that the object apparatus having the inherent information has been moved, and deletes the display of the original location of the object apparatus on the location management screen to update the location management screen with respect to the state of movement of the object apparatus.
At this time, the location change updating unit may be arranged to display, on the location management screen, a schedule for removal of the object apparatus from its original location of movement, before deleting on the location management screen the display relating to the object apparatus at the original location of movement.
According to the above remote monitoring system, the object apparatus may be a point of sales (POS) terminal.
Further, the object apparatus may be a point of sales (POS) terminal installed in each of a plurality of stores, and the relaying apparatus may play as a store server installed in each of the plural stores, and the store server is operable to add, to the test data, store information relating to the location of introduction, movement or removal of the object apparatus.
According to the present invention, there is also provided am automatic setting apparatus for use in a remote monitoring system including an object apparatus to be monitored and a monitoring apparatus installed remotely from the object apparatus in the system to monitor a current state of the object apparatus over a communications network, and for automatically setting a near-end value, which is to be used for management of consumption components and to be compared with an amount of actual spending of a consumption component of the object apparatus, to discriminate whether the consumption component has come close to the end of its expected life. The setting apparatus comprises an actual spending calculating unit for calculating the amount of actual spending of the consumption component per unit time, a comparing unit for comparing the calculated amount of actual spending of the consumption component with a predetermined reference amount of spending, and a near-end value setting unit for adjustably setting the near-end value in accordance with the result of comparison made by the comparing unit, in such a manner that a predetermined allowance is provided between a time point when the consumption component is detected to have come close to the end of its expected life and a time point when the consumption component reaches the end of the life.
At this time, as the result of comparison made by the comparing unit, if a difference between the amount of actual spending of the consumption component and the predetermined reference amount of spending is larger than is a predetermined amount and also if the amount of actual spending is larger than the predetermined reference amount of spending, the near-end value setting unit adjustably sets the near-end value as smaller than the then-current value, and if the difference between amount of actual spending of the consumption component and the predetermined reference amount of spending is larger than the predetermined amount and also if the amount of actual spending is smaller than the predetermined reference amount of spending, the near-end value setting unit adjustably sets the near-end value as larger than the then-current value.
The automatic near-end value setting apparatus may comprise an alarm message generating unit arranged such that, after the consumption component has been detected to have come close to the end of its expected life and as the result of comparison by the comparing unit, if a difference between the amount of actual spending of the consumption component and the predetermined reference amount of spending is larger than a predetermined amount and also if the amount of actual spending is larger than the predetermined reference amount of spending, the alarm message generating unit generates an alarm message.
The actual spending calculating unit, the comparing unit and the near-end value setting unit may be provided in the object apparatus. Further, the actual spending calculating unit, the comparing unit and the near-end value setting unit may be provided in the monitoring apparatus, and the actual spending calculating unit is operable to calculate the amount of actual spending of the consumption component per unit time based on actual-spending information about how much the consumption component has been spent, the actual-spending information being reported from the object apparatus to the monitoring apparatus via the communications network. Furthermore, the object apparatus may be a point of sales (POS) terminal.
Further, according to the present invention, there is provided a computer-readable recording medium for use in a remote monitoring system including an object apparatus to be monitored and a monitoring apparatus installed remotely from the object apparatus in the system to monitor a current state of the object apparatus over a communications network. The recording medium has recorded therein a program for automatically setting a near-end value, which is to be used for management of consumption components and to be compared with an amount of actual spending of a consumption component of the object apparatus, to discriminate whether the consumption component has come close to the end of its expected life. The program controls a computer to function as an actual spending calculating unit for calculating the amount of actual spending of the consumption component per unit time, a comparing unit for comparing the calculated amount of actual spending of the consumption component with a predetermined reference amount of spending, and a near-end value setting unit for adjustably setting the near-end value in accordance with the result of comparison made by the comparing unit, in such a manner that a predetermined allowance is provided between a time point when the consumption component is detected to have come close to the end of its expected life and a time point when the consumption component reaches the end of the life.
The recording medium may be arranged such that, when the computer functions as the comparing unit and as the result of comparison made by the comparing unit, if a difference between the amount of actual spending of the consumption component and the predetermined reference amount of spending is larger than a predetermined amount and also if the amount of actual spending is larger than the predetermined reference amount of spending, the near-end value setting unit adjustably sets the near-end value as smaller than the then-current value, and if the difference between amount of actual spending of the consumption component and the predetermined reference amount of spending is larger than the predetermined amount and also if the amount of actual spending is smaller than the predetermined reference amount of spending, the near-end value setting unit adjustably sets the near-end value as larger than the then-current value.
The recording medium may be arranged such that, when the program controls the computer to function as an alarm message generating unit, after the consumption component has been detected to have come close to the end of its expected life and as the result of comparison by the comparing unit, if a difference between the amount of actual spending of the consumption component and the predetermined reference amount of spending is larger than a predetermined amount and also if the amount of actual spending is larger than the predetermined reference amount of spending, the alarm message generating unit generates an alarm message.
According to the remote monitoring system of the present invention, when the object apparatus is introduced into the system or the apparatus is moved within the system, the test data generating unit of the object apparatus generates test data, and the test data is sent by the state information reporting unit to the monitoring apparatus. Thereafter, the test data returning unit of the monitoring apparatus returns the test data to the object apparatus by way of the communication network. Then, the test data generating unit of the object apparatus compares the original test data generated with the test data returned from the monitoring apparatus, so that it is checked whether the state information reporting unit functions well or not in its reporting function.
Therefore, when the object apparatus is introduced into the system or the same is moved within the system, it is possible to automatically carry out not only a general network check, or confirmation whether the object apparatus is physically connected to the network or not, but also confirmation whether a message transmission is positively carried out from the state information reporting unit of the object apparatus to the monitoring apparatus. Accordingly, the object apparatus can be smoothly brought into an operation mode and the worker such as a CE can be remarkably relieved from a load of maintenance operation.
According to the remote monitoring system of the present invention, when the test data is sent from the object apparatus to the monitoring apparatus, the test data is arranged to contain the inherent information of the object apparatus and location information about a location where introduction, movement or removal of the object apparatus. Therefore, the monitoring apparatus can collect the status information of the location each time the object apparatus is introduced into the system, moved within the system and removed from the system without transmitting a packet or the like periodically on the communication network. That is, it is possible for the monitoring apparatus to collect positively the status information of the location of the object apparatus without imposing a heavy load on the communication network.
Further, according to the present invention, when the object apparatus is introduced into the system or moved within the system, the test data generating unit is started up in response to the start instruction input by the operator through the operation unit. In addition, the inherent information of the object apparatus is also input by the operator through the operation unit. Then, the check result of the reporting function of the state information reporting unit done by the test data generating unit is reported to the operator by means of the reporting function. Therefore, the operator on the duty of the introduction, the movement or the removal of the object apparatus can check extremely positively and easily the reporting function of the state information reporting unit.
Furthermore, according to the present invention, the display unit of the monitoring apparatus is arranged to display the location management screen representing the status of the installation of the object apparatus based on the introduction information, the movement information or the removal information of the object apparatus. Further, the location management screen is updated automatically in accordance with the introduction, the movement or the removal of the object apparatus each time the system is supplied with the information concerning the introduction, the movement or the removal of the object apparatus. Therefore, the manager of the system need not update the location management screen in accordance with unauthorized information concerning the introduction, the movement or the removal of the object apparatus. Accordingly, the number of steps for maintaining the location management screen is decreased and the manager of the system can be relieved from a load for maintaining the system.
In this case, before the location management screen is updated in accordance with the introduction information, the movement information or the removal information of the object apparatus, the pooled information screen containing the introduction information, the movement information or the removal information of the object apparatus is displayed so as to inform the manager of that the object apparatus is introduced, moved or removed, whereby the location management screen can be selectively updated in accordance with the introduction information, the movement information of the object apparatus which is selected or designated by the manager with confirmation on the pooled information screen. Therefore, the manager can manage the status of the installation of the object apparatus by means of the location management screen while confirming the location status deriving from the introduction, the movement or the removal of the object apparatus.
In addition, before the updating operation which is going to be carried out is settled on the location management screen based on the introduction information, movement information or the removal information of the object apparatus, the location management screen is formed so that an indication of the object apparatus corresponding to a location status which is going to be updated based on the introduction information, the movement information or the removal information is displayed in a manner different from a manner in which an indication of the same corresponding to a location status last updated is displayed. Therefore, the manager can positively recognize the location status deriving from the introduction, the movement or the removal of the object apparatus.
Further, according to the present invention, if introduction information, movement information or removal information having the same inherent information as that of the object apparatus in which inherent information is contained in the introduction information, the movement information or the removal information before the location management screen is updated with respect thereto is stored in the location information storing unit, the location change updating unit judges that the object apparatus having the inherent information has been moved, and deletes the display of the original location of the object apparatus on the location management screen to update the location management screen with respect to the state of movement of the object apparatus. Therefore, the display of the original location of the object apparatus will not be left undeleted, and the location management screen is automatically updated in accordance with the current location status of the object apparatus without dependence on the manual operation of the manager. Accordingly, the load imposed on the manager will be remarkably reduced. At this time, before the display of the original location of the object apparatus is deleted from the location management screen, the location change updating unit displays, on the location management screen, a schedule for removal of the object apparatus. Thus, the manager can positively recognize which object apparatus is going to be moved or removed.
On the other hand, according to the automatic setting apparatus for setting the near-end value for managing a consumption component employed in the remote monitoring system of the present invention, and also according to the recording medium readable by a computer and having the automatic setting program recorded thereon, the actual spending rate calculating unit calculates the amount of actual spending of the consumption component per unit time, the comparing unit compares the calculated amount of actual spending of the consumption component with a predetermined reference amount of spending, and the near-end value setting unit adjustably sets the near-end value in accordance with the result of comparison so that a predetermined allowance is provided between a time point of the near-end and a time point of the end of the life. Therefore, the near-end value can be automatically set without dependence on the determination or manual operation of the operator and/or manager. Furthermore, the allowance between the time point of the near-end and the time point of the end of the life can be positively maintained constant.
Accordingly, even if the number of object apparatus is increased, all object apparatus can be positively monitored without imposing a load on the operator such as a CE or the manager. Further, the consumption component can be exchanged efficiently at a proper timing, that is, the consumption component can be positively replaced with new one before the component is worn out to cause a trouble, and the consumption component can be prevented from being exchanged too early, with the result that the consumption component can be effectively utilized.
Furthermore, after the near-end state is detected, if it is found that the amount of actual spending per unit time of the consumption component is abruptly increased, the manager can be informed of the fact by the alarm message. Therefore, the manager can be aware that little allowance is left from the near-end state to the life terminating state. Therefore, if the consumption component is replaced with a new one a little earlier, it is possible to prevent the consumption component from being brought to the worn-out stage due to the erroneous estimation of the life of the component.